Caribbean: Hurricanes Dennis & Emily Appeal No. 05EA14

The Federation's mission is to improve
the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It
is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers
are active in over 181 countries.

NOTE: GIVEN THE DEVELOPING NATURE
OF THIS DISASTER AND ONGOING DAMAGE AND NEEDS ASSESSMENTS, THIS APPEAL
WILL BE REVISED TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL COUNTRIES AS HURRICANE EMILY PROGRESSES
THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN. THE FEDERATION'S APPROACH TO THIS OPERATION AND
THE STRATEGY OUTLINED IN THIS APPEAL ARE INTENDED TO BE FLEXIBLE; DONORS
ARE ENCOURAGED TO PROVIDE TIMELY SUPPORT, WITH MINIMUM EARMARKING.

CHF 250,000 HAS BEEN RELEASED FROM THE
FEDERATION'S DISASTER RELIEF EMERGENCY FUND (DREF).

The situation

Although it is still early in the Atlantic
hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November, the Caribbean
region has already been affected by two major hurricanes. The first hurricane
of the season was Dennis, which caused at least 60 deaths in the Caribbean
before weakening to a tropical storm over the southern United States.

The storm's rain battered the southern
coast of Haiti, causing rivers to overflow and roads to be flooded. A team
from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) reported that Dennis caused flooding in Les
Cayes and Grand Anse in the country's southern region. Coastal villages
were evacuated. According to data from the Civil Protection, at least 20
people have died as a result of the storm. About 254 people are believed
to be in shelters in Les Cayes, 100 in shelters in Port-Salut, and 300
in Grand Anse. The PAHO/UNDP team reports that 17 houses have been destroyed
and 16 have been heavily damaged. The hospital in Les Cayes is flooded
but continues to treat patients. One of the main bridges in Grand Goâves,
in the southern part of the country, has collapsed, completely blocking
access. An assessment undertaken by the Civil Protection with the participation
of the Red Cross branches in the affected areas indicates that 1,500 families
are homeless as a result of the flooding in Grand Anse of whom 675 are
in urgent need of assistance. The collapse is the cause of several of the
deaths being reported. The Haitian government has allocated five million
gourdes (USD 123,653) towards the relief effort.

Hurricane Dennis struck Jamaica on Thursday,
7 July, as it strengthened to a category three hurricane. The storm brought
hurricane force winds that extended outward from the centre up to 50 miles.
Although wind damage was not intense, the system brought substantial flooding
causing severe mudslides. Residents of low lying areas as well as coastal
towns - where a large part of the population lives - were advised to seek
higher ground. The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management
(ODPEM) confirmed that approximately 8,000 persons were affected in Jamaica,
and this number is expected to rise as assessments continue. Persons were
moved to shelters, mostly in the north eastern section of the country.
In St. Thomas, main roads remain impassable and several communities have
been cut-off. Many persons are unable to return home as their homes were
either washed away or the water has not yet begun to recede. The main bridge
to Port Antonio, Portland has been destroyed while St. Mary is said to
have experienced substantial agricultural damage. The parishes of St. Thomas,
St. Mary and Portland appear to be the areas that have sustained the greatest
impact though effects of Dennis were felt in other parishes across the
island. Some businesses in Jamaica have now returned to their normal functions
and there are no major reports of power outages. There is however a temporary
loss of water in some areas and the National Water Commission confirmed
that just less than 30 percent of supply systems were not operating at
normal capacity.

Hurricane Dennis, at that time a category
four hurricane, pounded Cuba for ten hours on Friday, 8 July before heading
back into the Gulf of Mexico and moving towards the United States. Hurricane
Dennis left ten people dead across the country and destroyed thousands
of houses in the provinces of Habana, Camaguey, Ciego de Ávila, Tunas,
Santiago de Cuba, Matanzas, Sancti Espíritus and Guatanamo. In total, more
than 1,400,000 people were evacuated, including tourists, 196,000 of which
were moved to emergency shelters. Once the hurricane had passed over Cuba,
national authorities, together with the Civil Defence and the Cuban Red
Cross began conducting damage and needs assessments. While evaluation teams
are still collecting data from throughout the country, the Cuban Civil
Defence Agency is currently estimating that some eight million people were
affected by the hurricane and some 40,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.
The high winds and heavy rains also cut water and electrical services in
the affected parts of the country. Crews are currently working to restore
these services. As of yesterday, 13 July, 19,200 remained evacuated, 17,700
of whom are in the 250 shelters scattered around the country, particularly
in the western part of the island. Cuba's immediate needs are for materials
to cover roofs, mattresses, generators, chlorine tablets, canned foods,
transport materials, jerry cans, hygiene kits and first aid kits. There
is likely to be a longer term need for rehabilitation and repair of housing.
As well, the damage suffered by the agriculture industry may result in
longer term food needs. There will be a National Disaster Committee meeting
in Cuba next week, after which international assistance may be requested.

Hurricane Emily, the second major hurricane
of the season, first began to form on 12 July in the eastern Caribbean
Sea and moved towards the Windward Islands. Tropical Storm Emily was upgraded
to a category one hurricane late Wednesday night, 13 July, and hurricane
warnings were issued for Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and
the Grenadines and Tobago. A tropical storm warning was issued for Trinidad
and a tropical storm watch was issued for Martinique. All tropical storm
warnings for the Windward Islands have now been discontinued.

As of 1100 CET Hurricane Emily is continuing
to strengthen as it moves across the eastern Caribbean and is now a dangerous
category four storm. Emily is moving towards the westnorthwest near 33km/hr
(21 mph). Maximum sustained winds have increased and are now near 215km/hr
(135mph), with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is forecast during
the next 24 hours. A tropical storm warning remains in effect for the northern
coast of Venezuela. A tropical storm warning is also in effect for Bonaire,
Curacao, and Aruba. In addition, the government of the Dominican Republic
has issued a tropical storm warning from Punta Salinas westward to the
Dominican Republic/Haiti border. The government of Haiti has issued a tropical
storm warning from the Dominican Republic/Haiti border to Port-au- Prince.
The government of Jamaica has issued a hurricane warning for Jamaica.

Hurricane Emily passed over the island
of Grenada early Thursday morning, 14 July, where it caused significant
damage to buildings and crops. The skies have now cleared, allowing the
Red Cross and other actors to further the assessments of damage already
begun. The island is still without electricity. It is expected that electricity
will probably be restored in the next 48 hours. Damage to water dams has
affected the water system. Approximately 1,800 residents have occupied
the 48 temporary shelters that have been opened on the island. Some of
the shelter occupants have been destitute since Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
With businesses closed, there will soon be a need for the provision of
food. It is possible that the Chamber of Commerce will provide assistance
in this area. The parishes of St. Patrick and St. Andrew have been the
most affected, as well as the dependencies of Carriacou and Petit Martinique.
The damage is less severe in the parish of St. David. The major health
facilities are operating, however there have been reports of damage to
the Carriacou hospital's roof. As of yet, there are no reports of casualties
caused by the storm. Some roads have been blocked by landslides and overflowing
rivers. The Grenada Red Cross (GRC) will undertake an aerial assessment,
to better understand the damage inflicted by Emily. As well, 30 Red Cross
volunteers and staff members have been dispatched to assess the most vulnerable
parishes. Following the assessments, the GRC will focus on distributing
materials and on providing psychosocial support, for which trained experts
are already available because of training received in response to Hurricane
Ivan. There may also be a need for the GRC to support the management of
shelters. A Federation disaster management delegate will arrive in Grenada
tomorrow, 15 July, to support assessment and response activities.

In the other countries affected by Hurricane
Emily, there appear to be at this time only minimal needs that are being
addressed by their respective governments and Red Cross Societies. In St.
Vincent and the Grenadines, a damage and needs assessment will be carried
out to determine the full extent of the damage, although preliminary reports
indicate that 11 houses have lost their roofs: seven on the main island
of St. Vincent, one in Cannau and three in Union. In total, 530 people
were evacuated to 31 shelters in the country. In Trinidad and Tobago, a
rapid nationwide assessment was conducted yesterday, 14 July. There have
been no casualties as a result of Hurricane Emily. In Tobago, two houses
were destroyed and thirty suffered roof loss. In Trinidad, six houses suffered
partial roof loss, and some 200 to 300 houses suffered flood damage. Several
roads were affected by localized flooding, but the water has now subsided.
Several landslides were reported in Trinidad and North Tobago. Aranguez
Bridge washed away. Reports of Cunupia Bridge being washed away are being
investigated. Water mains burst in Maraval, Trinidad. The Princess Elizabeth
Home for children with cerebral palsy in Trinidad was flooded, and clean-up
is underway. There was localised disruption to electricity supplies. In
North Trinidad, the power was cut to 1,300 houses, but it has now been
restored. In East Trinidad, the power was cut to 3,300 houses; in Tobago
11,000 houses were without power; of these, power has since been restored
to 8,200 houses. Full restoration of electricity is expected by July 15th.
Trinidad's main airport and Tobago's airport were both closed overnight,
13 to 14 July and have since re-opened. Both land and cellular phone lines
are operating normally. Overall security in Trinidad and Tobago is good.

As Hurricane Emily now moves towards
the Netherlands Antilles of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire, the Overseas Branches
of the Netherlands Red Cross is attending meetings with disaster committees.
Red Cross volunteers are on standby and the contingency plan has been activated.

For further information specifically
related to this operation please contact:

All International Federation assistance
seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian
Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance
to the most vulnerable. For support to or for further information concerning
Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for
a full description of the national society profile, please access the Federation's
website at http://www.ifrc.org

For longer-term programmes, please
refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal.